A Breakup in the Irish Whiskey Business (Episode 752: January 27, 2019)

Even when things appear to be going well, there are sometimes
undercurrents of trouble behind the scenes. That played out in
Ireland this week after Walsh Whiskey Company and Italy's Illva
Saronno Holdings agreed to dissolve their five-year-long joint
venture because of disagreements on the company's future. Walsh
will keep its Writers' Tears and The Irishman whiskey brands,
while Illva Saronno gets the distillery near Carlow. We'll talk
with Bernard Walsh about the future of the company that bears his
name on WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news U.S. Treasury Department
employees are returning to work after the tentative end of the
federal government's partial shutdown, and they're facing a big
backlog of applications for new whisky, spirits, wine and beer
labels that piled up during the shutdown. We'll also have details
on the long-awaited opening of Michter's new Fort Nelson micro
distillery and visitors center on Louisville's Whiskey Row and
the rest of the week's news, too.